The Truth behind the Mask
by DeepoceanFire
Summary: You thought you knew what happened inside the Pataki house? You didn't until you've read this. Haha. Anyways...


**[A/N: ok everyone, I'm gonna try and make a one-shot/songfic for the story of Helga's life. i haven't decided on a particular age though so don't expect to hear about that kind of thing. probably gonna be between the ages of 5-8 ok? not quite sure yet. anyways, I've put 2 songs in this fic. "Concrete Angel" and "The Little Girl" both of which have inspired me and somehow reminded me of Helga's home life. Although some stuff may or may not be true, I'm making it true lol. Anyways, here i go... (Lyrics from Concrete angel are in 's and lyrics from the little girl are in 's)]**

It was a wet, windy spring morning. April had some of the cruelest rain in this city. It could rain non-stop for days with no hint of stopping. Helga woke up to the sound of her parents arguing again.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you?! You stupid cow!" Big Bob yelled.  
  
"It isn't my fault! Shut the fuck up you worthless bastard!" Miriam screamed.  
  
"Who do you think you're talking to? Who?! You stupid bitch!"  
  
Helga heard the sound of someone getting smacked but she tried to block it out. She went into her closet and pulled out her pink dress that she wore everyday. She brushed her hair and went downstairs to make her lunch for school.  
  
She looked into the living room and saw her parents making out on the couch; her mother's eye was completely swollen.  
  
Helga opened the fridge and pulled out a juice box and put it in a paper bag she'd found on the countertop. She closed and fridge and went over to the cupboard. She took out a Pop-Tarts package and a little packet of crackers and put them in the bag.  
  
She went into the dining room and got her backpack from the corner where she always left it.  
  
"I'm going to school now!" Helga called to her parents who were still back in the living room having sex.  
  
Helga opened the door and walked out into the rain. There weren't any umbrellas in the umbrella holder in front of the door so why did they even have an umbrella holder? It was something her parents had bought long ago, way before she was born.  
  
The rain quickly soaked Helga's dress and she walked along the sidewalk to school, her lunch bag softly hitting her side every time she took a step. _::She walks to school with the lunch she packed; no body knows what she's holding back. Wearing the same dress she wore yesterday. She hides the bruises with the linen and lace::  
_

Helga quickly ran across an intersection. Once on the other side, she sighed and kept walking. When was life ever going to be simple? When was anyone ever going to love her?  
  
"Hi, Helga." A voice from behind.  
  
Helga spun around, only to see Arnold. The sweet boy with the oddly-shaped head, holding his umbrella over her.  
  
Helga smiled. "Hi,"  
  
"Can I walk with you?" Arnold asked. His sweet little boy voice somehow comforting her.  
  
Helga nodded and the two of them walked together.  
  
They got to the school and went their separate ways to classes.  
  
"Hey! Look at me! I'm Heelllllga! With my big, ugly caterpillar eyebrow! Heheehehehehe!" Harold was rarely nice to Helga unless she threatened him. Otherwise, he'd just make fun of her in any way possible.  
  
"Shut up pink-boy or I'm gonna have to beat your face in!" Helga growled at him.  
  
"Oooo, I'm so scared." Harold laughed.  
  
Helga pulled her fist back and punched him square in the face.  
  
"Arrghh! Mommy!" Harold ran off crying.  
  
Helga's scowl vanished and for one moment you could see the hurt little girl inside.

_::Her daddy drank all day and mommy did drugs. Never wanted to play or give kisses and hugs. She'd watch TV and sit there on the couch. While her mom fell asleep and her daddy went out...::_ School went by too quickly for Helga's liking. She had to go back home to the fighting and the arguing and the sex and the hitting...  
  
"I'm home!" Helga yelled as soon as she got in the door.  
  
There wasn't any answer. Helga didn't bother finding out why. She walked into the kitchen to find her mother slumped over the counter, passed out.  
  
Helga went into the fridge and saw a new package of hotdogs. She tore a hole in the plastic and pulled one out. She took a paper plate from the stack on top of the fridge and put the cold, wet hotdog on it. She put it in the microwave and set it for 1 minute.  
  
"What's that smell?" Big Bob wondered aloud and he walked into the kitchen.  
  
"A hotdog..." Helga looked up at the tall, big man standing before her.  
  
"A hotdog...from the pack in the fridge?" Big Bob questioned.  
  
"...Yes...is there something wrong with it?" Helga asked.  
  
"No...of course not. Except that those hotdogs were the ones that I just bought for myself! Your mother never makes any goddamn food in this house and you take what I eat and don't even ask!? How many times do I have to tell you to ask before you fucking eat something in this house!?" Big Bob grabbed Helga's shoulders roughly and shook her.  
  
"How many!?" Big Bob screamed in her face.  
  
"I'm sorry!" Helga cried.  
  
"You're damn right...you better be sorry. You stupid girl..." Big Bob raised his hand and hit Helga upside her head. She fell down like a ton of bricks.  
  
Big Bob walked out of the kitchen muttering to himself. Helga sat on the floor, dizzy and in pain. She softly cried.  
  
It somehow amazed Helga that her mother didn't wake up or anything during Big Bob's fit. But then again, when her mother passed out, she was out cold.  
  
The oven beeped and Helga took her hotdog out. She put the plate on the counter and got a hotdog roll from on of the drawers. She put the hotdog in the roll and quickly ran with it up to her room and closed the door.  
  
Helga ate her hotdog as fast as she could and went over to her bedroom door. She quickly locked it and went into her closet. Past the clothes and old toys and junk there sat a football shape made of gum. She sat down in front of it and looked above the shrine to a picture of a football-headed, blond boy. Arnold. The only person in this world that cares... _::Through the wind and the rain, she stands hard as a stone in a world that she can't rise above. But her dreams give her wings and she flies to a place where she's loved...Concrete angel...::  
_ It was later that evening when Helga finally emerged from her room. It was time for dinner. Her mom had ordered in pizza and Big Bob insisted that they eat at the dining room table.  
  
Helga swiftly sat down in one of the chairs and gingerly took a piece of pizza from the box in the middle of the table.  
  
She stole a glance at Big Bob and suddenly felt the pain he'd inflicted on her all over again. She watched him take a sip from his beer can and then put it back down on the table. She looked over to her mother. Her mom never blinked once, she just sat there in silence, taking bite after bite of the pizza slice in her hand.  
  
No one talked. No one made a sound.  
  
After everyone had had their fill they would go and do their own thing but tonight Miriam and Big Bob got into another fight. Helga ran upstairs and hid behind the banister. She didn't want to block it out anymore. Somehow she knew it was important to know what was going on down there.  
  
Every two seconds Helga heard someone fall to the floor or get hit. They didn't say anything but their made noises. Cries, growls, the sounds of pain. A loud bang sound and then another echoed throughout the house. Suddenly, it was quiet. Not a sound, not a word. Helga wanted to go downstairs and see what had happened but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She quietly went into her room and shut the door behind her. _::Like it always does, the bad just got worse. With every slap and every curse. Until her daddy drunk rage one night, used a gun on her momma and then took his life...::_ **[A/N: I'm gonna stop it there. That's basically where I finished thinking. The songs end up with her either dying or going into foster care but, we all know that hasn't happened to Helga...or will it? Maybe I'll make a sequel to this story if you guys want me to. Just tell me.**

**oh, and sorry if you thought it was too short. this is where i ran out of coal to burn the fires of...creativity...yeah...i gotta stop reading so much :P  
  
That was my first one-shot fanfic; i hope you guys liked it. Give me any feedback you have. Thanks! :)]**


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